With around 40-50% of all browser users worldwide using Google Chrome, it makes sense for hackers to target Chrome. Hackers are becoming more and more savvy and executing their hacking techniques with more finesse. Their hacking techniques are looking more and more legitimate and this can spell disaster if you are not vigilant in your computer use.

Chrome users need to be on the lookout when browsing the web and visiting websites that are not secure or trusted. Lately, hackers have been using website exploits in Chrome to try and get you to download or update your 'language pack' that embeds malware into your computer system.

​It is going to look something like this:

Unfortunately, the hackers make the premise sound and look so believable it is hard to spot that it is, in fact, a hack. Also, unfortunate, if you do end up falling for this hack your system will be compromised by viruses or malware that could potentially put your system and personal information at risk. It also seems that Chrome and other anti-virus software (premium or not) are not yet picking up on this virus/malware.

If you come across this particular hack close all dialogue boxes and navigate from the website immediately. Simply having the dialogue box show up on your computer prompting you to download or update is not enough for your computer to be infected. However, if you proceed with the prompts, download and execute the file then your computer will be infected.

The best thing you can do is be vigilant. New hacks, viruses, and malware are being released daily and it is almost impossible to keep up with them all. No matter how legitimate something looks, be critically and if you have the smallest sense that something might be amiss, then I strongly suggest you either 1. do your research before you proceed or 2. call a professional who can check the legitimacy of whatever you are about to do.

Solid State Hard Drive has to be one of the single best upgrades you can do to your computer, whether it is a desktop or a laptop. So what is the basic difference between a mechanical hard drive (HDD) and a solid state hard drive (SDD)? Essentially, an HDD has a spinning disk inside and a little arm that moves back and forth and reads and writes the information on the disk - it has moving parts. An SDD has absolutely no moving parts, which gives you several advantages. ​

The biggest and perhaps most notable advantage is speed. SDD will give you significantly better performance than an HDD drive will. Perhaps as important, because the SDD has no moving parts it is a lot more stable and far less likely to experience some sort of shock damage that could compromise your OS or your data. SSD, again because they have no moving parts and much quieter - they run completely silent. AND last but not least, they don't get hot like a traditional HDD, which means less overall strain on your system's hardware and in all likely will prolong the life of your computer. On the outside an SSD looks very similar to a standard 2.5" HDD, on the inside, however, it would look more like Random Access Memory (RAM). SDD are designed with nonvolatile memory chips that can retain the information you store on it.

SDD tend to run a little more expensive than traditional HDD. For example, a traditional 1TB HDD will cost around $99CA, whereas, a 240GB SDD will cost around $150CA. With that being said, however, an SDD hard drive is, in most cases, the most cost-effective upgrade you can do to your computer.

So what should you do with your old hard drive? Well, you should not throw it out. With everything that you gain from an SDD, there is one thing you loose. Storage capacity. Unfortunately, SDD are too expensive to upgrade your computer with large capacity drives, so you should keep your old hard drive and turn it into and external storage device. The first thing you want to do is test your HDD to ensure that it still has its integrity. To do this simply go to any search engine and search for Crystal Disk Info, download and run the program. This program will give you information about your HDD, for example, how many hours are on it and at what temperature it is running. If the program comes back with a 'Good' status then you are set to use your HDD as an external storage device, if however, the program comes back with a 'Caution' or 'Bad' status, not only would I recommend you don't use that HDD to store important information but I would also suggest you back up your data and get your HDD replaced as soon as possible.

If you are going to turn your HDD into an external storage device then you simply need to replace it with an SDD, install the OS on the new SDD, and format your old HDD. You will then need to purchase a dock or case for your HDD. They start around $20CA for a 2.5" case and allows your to connect the HDD to your computer like a traditional external hard drive.

The total cost of upgrade your computer with an SSD at GMF Computers is: $149.95 for the SSD and $75.00 to install it with your OS and backup your data.